european commission
Newsletter
Ursula von der Leyen's Green Deal struggles amid election campaign
Facing an election and multiple crises, Ursula von der Leyen has downplayed her Green Deal achievements to appease various factions within the EU.
In short:
- Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, has minimized her climate agenda amid electoral pressures.
- Manfred Weber and the EPP have heavily opposed her Green Deal, reflecting broader conservative dissatisfaction.
- Interviews reveal von der Leyen's covert efforts to advance her climate policies despite public concessions.
Key quote:
"If a leader is playing both sides — something that we are experiencing now — you have a problem."
— Teresa Ribera, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister
Why this matters:
Von der Leyen's maneuvers highlight the political challenges of sustaining ambitious climate policies in the face of economic and electoral pressures. The future of the EU's climate agenda may hinge on the upcoming election and von der Leyen's ability to navigate internal party conflicts. Critics, however, warn that de-emphasizing the Green Deal could jeopardize the EU's leadership role in global climate action.
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Newsletter
EU's recycled content rules stir controversy
The European Commission is proposing more lenient standards for what counts as recycled material in products, a decision that aligns with the chemical industry's interests.
In short:
- The European Commission suggests relaxing the criteria for calculating recycled content in consumer goods.
- This proposal has sparked concerns of greenwashing, as it may allow companies to claim higher levels of recycling than actually achieved.
- Critics argue this could undermine efforts to combat plastic pollution and mislead consumers about the environmental impact of their purchases.
Key quote:
“This is, for me, a really high risk of greenwashing.”
— Lauriane Veillard, policy officer at Zero Waste Europe.
Why this matters:
At a time when the world is grappling with plastic pollution and climate change, ensuring transparent and rigorous standards for recycled content is crucial for genuine progress.
Chemical recycling — an umbrella term used to describe processes that break plastic waste down into molecular building blocks with high heat or chemicals and convert them into new products — will not help reduce plastic pollution, but rather exacerbate environmental problems, according to a report by nonprofit environmental advocacy groups Beyond Plastics and the International Pollutants Elimination Network.
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Newsletter
Campaigners threaten EU with legal action over climate policy
Environmental campaigners have taken a first step towards legally challenging the European Commission over a policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, saying it fell short of Europe's "fair share" in combating climate change.
Super crops are coming: Is Europe ready for a new generation of gene-edited plants?
The European Commission’s proposal to legalize lab-tweaked crops pits Big Agri against environmental campaigners and small farmers.
Newsletter
Companies will soon have to prove that they really are taking climate action, under draft EU law
A draft legal proposal by the European Commission aims to clamp down on companies falsely promoting their products as "climate neutral" or "containing recycled materials".
France becomes latest country to leave controversial energy charter treaty
Quitting the ECT, which protects fossil fuel investors from policy changes that might threaten their profits, was ‘coherent’ with Paris climate deal, Macron said
Europe’s energy crisis exposes old fault lines and new power dynamics
Smaller countries see Germany’s domestic largess to tackle spiraling energy costs as undermining the effort to lower fuel prices for the wider European Union.
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